08/19/2012

Libraries are one of my favorite subjects when it comes to postcards, so I am always pleased to get them and this one is unusual. The Postcrosser tells me it is the Old Library of his university, which is Wuhan University. You can see a photo of it here, though the only information on it they offer is the date it was built in 1935. I love the little book in the lower left corner. Any help on translating the words on the front of the card would be much appreciated.

08/18/2012

This is Kelimutu on the island of Flores in Indonesia. These unusual crater lakes are the result of volcanic activity. There are actually three lakes and each contains different colored water.

"Tiwu Ata Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red respectively. The lake colors vary on a periodic basis."

Apparently the color changes are due to chemical reactions from the minerals in the volcano. These lakes are a popular tourist destination in Indonesia. I think I need to create a bucket list and on it I am going to add a visit to at least one volcano somewhere in the world.

The stamp is a "Greeting Stamp" with a lovely floral centerpiece and candles.

08/17/2012

This postcard of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Belarus is from the "Legends of Old Minsk" series. The postcrosser who sent it kindly translated the card (the back gives all sorts of historical information) and she mentions that the most valuable treasure of the church is an icon of the Mother of God. It is said to be miraculous. You can see the icon here. The cathedral dates from the mid-17th century.

I don't think I've seen this stamp before. It looks a bit like a fortress. A quick search didn't net any better information, but it looks like an interesting building.

08/16/2012

Here's a roundabout postcard. The sculpture is the famous Capitoline Wolf (La Lupa Capitolina) inspired by the legend of the founding of Rome. It came from a Postcrosser living in Spain but originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. It truly is a global world!

08/15/2012

Art postcards are some of my very favorite to receive in the mail (though I love any postcard really), but as I don't note specifically what sort of art I like in my Postcrossing profile, I'm always intrigued to see what cards appear in my mailbox. I quite like this one, by an artist I'd not heard of before. This is "Salome" by Franz von Stuck, 1906. It is located in the Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany.

Apparently the postcard was returned to the sender (luckily she had used an address label with her own address on it as well as mine), but she kindly put it in an envelope and mailed it back to me. The original stamp shows the Post Tower in Bonn.

08/14/2012

These farmhouses are only a few that make up the nearly one hundred historic buildings found at the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem. This is a living musuem where people can see the actual buildings and how they were used. Many of the structures were built hundreds of years ago. In 1912 the museum was founded as a way to preserve the architecture and cultural heritage surrounding a fading way of life. Unfortunately the card does not give details of the buildings. I would love to know what they were used for, but I am pleased to be introduced to this sort of museum. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to visit it.